Automobile-locking apparatus



May 1o, 1927,

T. MILLER AUTOMOBILE LOCKING APPARATUS l Filed-May 13. 1926 www INVENTOREn /f/LLER a l l A III/lll Will/ Y nD @QQ MW A TTORNE Y.

Patented May 10, 1.927.

TED MILLER, OF ENCINITAS, CALIFORNIA.

AUTOMOBILE-LOCKING APPARATUS.

Application filed May 13,

My invention relates to locking apparatus for automobiles and theobjects of my invention are; iirst, to provide a device for locking anautomobile by closing the circuit of the battery so that there is nocurrent to operate the motor; second, to provide a means in connectiontherewith for locking the brake lever so that it cannot be moved; third,to provide an apparatus of this class in which if the car becomes shortcircuited while driving, the circuit can be immediately broken; fourth,to provide an apparatus of this class which connects and disconnects thenegative post ofy the battery with the ground, thus cutting out thecircuit for operating when the apparatus is in locked position; fifth toprovide a novelly constructed automobile lock apparatus; and, sixth, toprovide an apparatus of this class which is very simple and economicalof construction,

durable, eficient in its act-ion, easily applied to automobiles now inuse and whichv will not readily deteriorate or get out of order.

lVith these and other objects in view, as

r will appear hereinafter, my invention consists of certain novelfeatures of construction, combination and arrangement of parts andlportions as will be hereinafter described in detail and particularlyset forth in the` appended claims, reference bein-g had to theaccompanying drawings andv to the characters of reference thereon whichform a part of this application, in which:

Figure l is a longitudinal elevational view of my device shownpositioned under the front seat of an automobile and ready for use,showing' some of the parts in section to facilitate the illustration;Fig. 2 is a transi verse sectional view on an enlarged scale through'2-2of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on an enlarged scalethrough 3-3 of Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a sectional view through 4-4 of Fig. 2,and Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the brake lever locking lever. n

Similar characters of reference referto similar parts and portionsthroughout the several views of the drawings.

The casing 1, lock member 2, key 3, axle member 4, gear 5, gear rack 6,gear rack supports and S, shaft supports 9 and 10, contact members 11and 12 and 12a, electrical conductors 13 and 14, spring member 15, cable16 and brake locking lever 17 con- 1926. Serial No. 108,748.

stitute the principal parts and portions of my automobile lockingapparatus. n

The casing 1 is preferably a strong metal-` lic casing, positioned onthe iioor A of the automobile under the seat B. Secured to the floor Aand extending longitudinally in the casing is a pair of spaced apartL-shaped supporting members 7 and 8. They are each provided withinwardly extending portions 7a and 8'r1 which tit into conforminggrooves in the side wall of the gear rack 6 so that this gear rack 6 isadapted to reciprocate onA these portions 7'DL and 8L which form a guideand support for the same. Secured on the base portions thereof Vnear theone end lis a lpair of L-shaped supports 9 and 10 which extend somedistance above the rack and in which is mounted the shaft 4 so that theshaft 4 will .revolve on the members 9 and l0. v

It will be notedthat the support l0 is provided with a journal -member10a upon which the one end of the shaft 4 is journaled. The

opposite end is journaled in the member 9. Secured on this shaft 4 is ayspur gear 5 which meshes with the gear rack 6. This shaft 4 is providedin one end with anelongated recess 4a in which is adapted to fit the oneend of a conforming lock member 2a,

thus providing for turning the shaft 4 with'v the revolution of the lockmember 2a. This lock member 2a is supported by a conventional lock ofthe revoluble type, that is, the type that revolves with the turning ofthe key and may be any lock of this class. The lock 2 is supported onthe side of the casing l as shown best in. Fig. 2 of the drawings.Connected to the one end of the gear rack 6 is the one end of a tensionspring 15, the opposite end of Vwhich is secured to the floor A, thusproviding a` means tending to draw the gear rack to the position shownin Fig. 1 of the drawings. Also secured to this end of this gear rack 4isa cable. 16 which is preferably a wire which is adapted to ex? videdon the one end with a counter balance portion 1T", tending to balance itin the position shown by solid lineel in Fig. l ot the drawings, and insuch position this lover rests against the bralie lever and thusprovides a means for preventing.;` the uiovcnn-nit o'll the gear raclttoward the great. ,blowout-r, when the brake ie applied on theautomobile, 'the opposite end ot this lever may more downwardly, asshown by dotted linee in livin'. l o l' the d awings Then, by turning;the hey Il, the gear racl; moved bacluvardly drawing the lever l?upwardly as shown by dotted linos in itin'. l ot the drawings, where itis positioned to engage the brake and prevent releasingl the brake, itbeing noted that by turning the hey tl, the loch will hold the shalt 4lwhen turned to a certain position and thus hold the gear rack inbaclmvard position.

Secured to the lower side o if the `rear rack -l1 and extending belowand to each side ot the eamo is an electrical contact member ll, andmounted ou the lloor and. insulated therclroni are other electricalcontacts l2 and i2 which are adapted to engage said. Contact il when thegear rack is in the position shown in Fig. l of the drawings, butdisengaged when the ear raclt is moved backwardly by the operation oitthe key in the lock. These contacts 12 and l2 are supported in the licorby means of bolts 12 around which instr lation members 12b, thusproviding vtor coinplete insulation ot the contacts l2 and 12u trom thefloor A. To one oit the boite l2,

i which serves as a terminal, is connected an electrical conductor l2which extends to and is grounded on the automobile body. "lhe other boltl2 serves as a terminal i'or the conductor lei which extends to thenegative post oi the automobile starting; and lighting battery.

The operation oit the automobile locking,- apparatus is as follows: Thenit is desired to lock the automobile, the brake C is applied, then thekey @5 is turned in the loch to a locked position. This in turn revolvesthe shaft at, together with the `gear 5, moving the gear rac t so thatthe contact ll is disengaged from the contacts l2 and l2, thus breakingthe circuit so that there is no current. Ytor operating the automobile.This in turn draws the extended end oit the lever li' upwardly so thatit engages the lower end ol the brake lever C and willnot permit themovement of the brake lever so that the brake is on and cannot bereleaeed. Thon it is desired to start the automobile, the key 23 isturned in the opposite direction and the rack lmoved to a position wherethe contacts All and l2 and l2 engage each other, the lever li' assumesthe position shown by the solid lines in Fig'. it o the drawings, sothat the brake may be released and the automobile operated. It will benoted that while the automobile is being driven, it the circuit in theautowaaien mobile should be short circuited, the key can be immediatelyapplied a nd break the circuit in the automobile by moving; the `rearrack so that the contacts il, 1&2l and l2 are dieengagged Atrom eachother.

Though l' have shown and deecribcd a par ticular construction,combination and arrangicnn-nt ot' parts and portions, l do not wish tobe limited to thisl p11 rt icular construction` conibiiuition andarrauigenicut, but dc- .aire to include in the :jacopo oi my inventionthe consti-mation. combination and :wrange1 nient eubatantially an :uitl'orth in the appendcd claims.

llavinp; thus` dczacribcd niy invention, what l claim an new and desirerto Secure by Let ters latent is:

l. in an automobile lot-.lining` apparatus, an automobile brake lever,an electrical :Switch with a contact in electrical connection with thenegative side o'l" an automobile battery, and another contact inconnection with and Lgi-omitted on the iuitoinobile, key lock and gearmeans ior opening and closin;r said switches, and a lever in connectionwith said gear means adapted to engage and lock the braite lever withthe movement of said lock ineane.

In an automobile locking apparatus, au automobile brake lever, anelectrical switch with a contact in electrical connection with thenegative side of an automobile battery, and another contact inconnection with and grounded on the aiitoniobilo, ke i lock and gearineans for opening and closing said switches, a lever in connection withsaid `je-ar means adapted to engage and look the brake lever with theniovement of said lock means, said key lock and gear means oonsisting ota conventional lock with a key, a shaft in operative connectiontherewith, a gear mounted on said shaft, and a gear rack meshing withsaid gear carrying a portion ol" said switch members.

3. In an apparatus ol the class described, an automobile brake lever, a`longitudinally shittable gear rack, an electrical contact positionedthereon, contact members adapted to engage therewith scoured to theautomobile body, a conductor electrically connected with one of saidcontacts and with the negative side of the automobile battery, anotherconductor connecting with the other contact and grounded on theautomobile body, a gear revolubly mounted and meshing with said gearrack, hey lock means tor revol\.fin said gear in either direction, acable secured to one end of said gear rack and extendingl therefrom, apivotally mounted lever to which one ond o t said cable is secured andthe other cud adapted to engage the brake lever below its pivotalniountiniI and prevent its movement when said lever is in certainposition.

i. In an apparatus of the class described,

an automobile brake lever, a longitudinally shiftable gear rack, anelectrical contact positioned thereon, contact members adapted to engagetherewith secured to the automobile body, a conductor electricallyconnected with one of said contacts and with the negative side of theautomobile battery, another conductor connecting with the other contactand grounded on the automobile body, a gear revolubly mounted andmeshing with said gear rack, key lock means for revolving said gear ineither direction, a cable secured to one end of said gear rack andextending therefrom, a pivotally mount- K ed lever to which one end ofthis cable is mounted and the other end adapted to engage the brakelever below its pivotal mounting, and means tending to hold said gearrack in certain position.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, an automobile brake lever, alongitudinally shiftable gear rack, an electrical contact positionedthereon, electrical contact members adapted to engage therewith securedto the automobile body, a conductor electrically connected with` one ofsaid contacts and with the negative side of the automobile battery,another conductor connecting with the other contact and grounded on theautomobile body, a gear revolubly mounted and connecting with said gearrack, key lock means for revolving said gear in either direction, acable secured to one end of said gear rack and extending therefrom, apivotally mounted lever to which one end of said cable is mounted andthe other end adapted to engage `the brake lever below its pivotalmounting, means tending to hold said gear rackrin certain position, anda casing enclosing said gear rack, gear and electrical contacts andsupporting said lock.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles,California, this 6th day of May, 1926.

TED MILLER.'

